Voyageur | Issue 3/2019 | July - September

a publication of CanCham Thailand

Sustainability Partner

July-Aug-Sep 2019 Issue

Platinum Partners

Gold Partners

Dear CanCham Members: Change is afoot at CanCham! On July 1, Jen Mechhayai was promoted to the position of Interim Executive Director as we said goodbye to Rose Swagemakers who had led CanCham as its Executive Director for the last 18 months. Rose leaves a legacy of increased membership and partner engagement as well an improved professional culture within the organization. We wish her all the best in her future endeavours. Khun Jen has served admirably as the chamber’s Events and Marketing Manager for the past four years and we are pleased to be able to promote from within the chamber as he takes this new step in his career.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

CanCham supports an active internship program and currently employs three summer interns: Kirsten Andersen from the University of Toronto, Erin Haubrich from the University of Victoria and Khun Kathaleeya Boonmee from Khon Kaen University – all masters students in their respective fields. Our interns bring energy, new ideas, technical expertise and operational firepower to the chamber. If your organization is interested in hiring an intern, please contact CanCham for more details.

On September 9th, CanCham, in partnership with the CanadaASEAN Business Council (CABC) co-hosts the Innovate CanadaASEAN forum. The fifth such annual event, and second time in Bangkok, brings together key business and government sector decision-makers to discuss such important topics as innovation, policy challenges facing companies trading between Canada and ASEAN and the impact of technological development on policy.

The forum will focus on six key areas: Artificial Intelligence, Agriculture, City Partnerships, Clean Technology, Healthcare and Investment in Canada. We look forward to the support and participation of many CanCham members and partners at this high-profile event in September.

Finally, as many of you head to Canada or other ports abroad for the summer holidays, I wish you all safe voyage and a great break.

Best,

John Stevens President | CanCham

CanCham Board Members & Advisors

2018-2019 CanCham Thailand Board Members Patron: H.E. Donica Pottie, Ambassador of Canada to Thailand Executive Board: John Stevens, President Derek van Pelt, Vice President Caroline Kwan, Vice President Dan McKay, Treasurer David Beckstead, Secretary Board of Directors: John Casella Lawrence Cordes Surachit Chanovan Ron Livingston Dean Outerson Rajiv Parrab Sunny Patel Natasak Rodjanapiches Embassy Representative Sanjeev Chowdhury Advisors: Yvonne Chin Dr. Jingjai Hanchanlash Joni Simpson Marisha Wojciechowska Dr. Nahathai Thewphaingarm Interim Executive Director: Jen Meckhayai Publication Design:

Publisher / Advertising

Finn Balslev, Marketing Director Tel: +66(0) 2943-7166 Email: finn@scandmedia.com

CanCham Thailand 139 Pan Road, Sethiwan Tower 9th floor, Bangkok 10500 Tel: +66(0) 2266-6085-6 Fax: +66(0) 2266-6087 Email: info@canchamthailand.org Website: www.canchamthailand.org

OUTGOING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE Dear Members & Partners, In 2018, the bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and Thailand totalled C$4.2 billion, making Thailand Canada’s second largest trading partner in ASEAN. Export Development Canada (EDC) states that Thailand warmly welcomes Canadian exports due to Thai free-market regulations, pro-foreign investment policies and strong export-oriented industries. Canadian exports to Thailand totalled to C$778 million with the largest export segment relating to paper products. Canadian imports from Thailand for 2018 reached over C$3.5 billion with the largest imports relating to machinery, mechanical appliances, electrical equipment and food products.

An organization, whose mission it is to facilitate increased trade and investment in the Canada-ASEAN economic corridor through policy advocacy and education, is the Canada-ASEAN Business Council (CABC). The CABC sees a wide range of trade opportunities for Canada in ASEAN and they look forward to discussing these with you during their high-profile event which will be held in Bangkok this year on September 9. This is of course one of the many influential gatherings that Thailand is hosting as being the Chair of ASEAN for 2019, and CanCham is happy to support this initiative.

It is fitting that my last message as Executive Director of CanCham Thailand is focussed on Trade as one of our Chamber’s core missions is to promote closer business relations and increased trade opportunities between Canada and Thailand.

It has been my great privilege and honour to represent my country in this role, collaborate with a hardworking and fun team, as well as a very dedicated Board of Directors & Advisors….and most importantly to serve our many inspiring and innovative partners and members. I would to thank all of you for the wonderful experience, especially President John Stevens with whom I closely collaborated during my time at CanCham. The decision to part ways was a difficult one as CanCham is more than just a job, but I’m looking forward to returning back to the private sector as an entrepreneur. I will not leave my Canadian roots far behind as I’m going to promote an innovative air purification technology from Quebec, taking over the role as MD of Asia Clean Innovations.

To our members; I would like to thank you all very much for your kind support, friendship and collaboration…. and I and hope you will extend the same courtesy to Khun Jen, who I have come to know as an incredibly dedicated and hardworking young professional, eager to take CanCham Thailand to new heights. Your support of and involvement into our Chamber is much appreciated and we very much enjoy working on your behalf.

Canada Day was my last “official” Chamber event and what a great finale it was – Thank you to all of you who attended, making this annual Canadian celebration another CanCham success.

Canada Day is so much more than coming to together to celebrate Canada’s birthday. Here in Thailand, it is a gathering that brings out strong feelings of patriotism, a love for our beautiful country, gratefulness to be Canadian and thankfulness to be part of this wonderful community away from home that is called CanCham Thailand.

Rose Swagemakers Outgoing Excutive Director | CanCham Thailand

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Dear CanCham Members, Partners & Friends,

INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

My name is Jen Meckhayai, the newly appointed interim Executive Director. It has been a privilege to work with Rose during her time with CanCham and we all wish her well in her new ventures.

A bit about my background: I graduated from Thammasat University from the Political Science Program, International Relations. I began working for CanCham Thailand as the Membership and Marketing Coordinator in 2015 and then stepped into the Events and Marketing Manager role in late 2016.

CanCham has become family to me and I would like to thank the CanCham Board for offering me this great opportunity. I am honoured to take on the torch from Rose. With my four years of experience serving CanCham and its members, I plan to continue to foster growth for the chamber and am devoted to finding new ways to add value for our members.

I am so lucky to be entering this role as Interim Executive Director at such an exciting time for CanCham. Partnering with the Canada-ASEAN Business Council for the Innovate CanadaASEAN forum, I am motivated to continue to find creative and effective ways of building partnerships for Canadian-Thailand businesses.

I thank you all for your support on this new and exciting venture and I look forward to what the future of CanCham has to hold.

Sincerely, Jen Meckhayai Interim Executive Director | CanCham Thailand

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CANCHAM THAILAND’S ADVISORS Yvonne Chin Canadian Commercial Corporation Yvonne has 19 years of service with the Government of Canada in the Trade Commissioner Service, and provides CanCham with valuable advice on how to liaise and elicit support from the Government of Canada’s various departments. She is one of the founders of the Women in Leadership event, which is now an annual CanCham event, and she will continue to support this event by securing panelists, contributing to content, ideas and themes, and serving as a panelist when needed.

Dr. Jingjai Hanchanlash Loxley Public Company Limited Known as Mr. Canada, Dr Jinjai currently is the Executive Vice President of Loxley Public Company Limited as well as the Chairman of the Executive Committee, for the Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment (Public Organization). No one has played a greater role in the past few decades that Jingjai in linking Canadian and Thai firms. As a past Board Director of CanCham, he has played an active role within the Chamber since its inception.

Joni Simpson International Labour Organization Joni supports CanCham by providing advice on issues related to diversity inclusion in the world of work - and in particular on women in management and business. She has access to valuable information and technical resources on these subjects in the Asia-Pacific region. Joni has demonstrated her commitment to CanCham both by co-developing the Women in Leadership event and by serving as moderator on the panel. Her network of contacts is also different from that of private sector, since she is part of a multilateral organization.

Marisha Wojciechowska Independent Consultant Marisha served CanCham on the WIL event and as a member of the Sustainability and Smart Business Committee - both of which have been successful endeavours for CanCham to date.

She believes these two endeavours provide fertile platforms for Canadian and Thai business leadership to shine and grow. She was also a keynote speaker in our Meet the Canadian Authors event following her recent publication “My Globetrotter Book,” travel activity book for children.

Dr. Nahathai Thewphaingarm CEO and Managing Director of the Thewphaingarm Group of Schools Throughout her exemplary career and for the past 20 years, Dr. Nahathai has been heavily involved in both education endeavours and political life in Thailand and has held senior offices in both sectors, most notably in the Office of the Prime Minister, Government, Parliament and Ministry of Education.

This has given Dr. Nahathai enormous insight into the workings of the Ministry of Education itself and how the districts and regions operate throughout Thailand in the education and political arenas.

Globally, she was selected as a member of the Forum of Young Global Leaders which is an integral part of the World Economic Forum and part of the larger New Champions community.

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CANADA AND ASEAN: WINNING TOGETHER IN THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY Innovation as a Policy Priority

The Fourth Industrial Revolution has made value chains are increasingly complex, and geopolitical trends combine with the new economic reality to shape a winning environment for forwardlooking and trade-ready nations. While Canada and ASEAN enjoy a growing relationship – with ongoing exploratory FTA discussions adding momentum to the partnership – now is the time for the regions to leverage one another’s complementary strengths to unlock deeper benefits on both sides of the Pacific.

At the same time, Canada has made the continued development of innovative strengths and international competitiveness a priority.

The Innovation Superclusters Initiative is investing up to C$950 million in following five sectors:

The Canada-ASEAN Business Council (CABC) believes that by aligning their innovation agendas, Canada and ASEAN can partner for growth in today’s global knowledge economy.

The question is, where and how can Canada and ASEAN collaborate to seize this opportunity?

Source: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

Together, the superclusters are expected to create 50,000 jobs and grow Canada’s economy by $50 billion.

On the other hand, efforts to promote innovation, especially in nurturing and attracting talent, have already seen positive results: CanCode has reached 1 million students, while PromoScience encourages 1 million youth a year to pursue interests and careers in STEM. The Global Skills Strategy, Global Talent Stream approved 3,625 applications for high-skilled immigrants, and created 40,833 jobs and 9,732 paid co-op positions.

Canada’s Innovation Landscape Canada is a global leader in the research and development of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and clean technology.

Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal are ranked as the 9th, 14th and 18th world-leading incubators of technology research and commercial applications respectively, with increasingly significant talent and innovation also developing in Western Canadian cities.

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Innovation Landscape in ASEAN CABC has a track record of hosting successful events to promote innovation partnerships between the two regions: • At the 4th CABC Business Forum in March 2018, CABC hosted highly well-received sessions on Innovation and Building a Smarter Nation.

• In April this year, our Canada-ASEAN Innovation Roadshow gathered nearly 200 participants from Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver to explore opportunities for Canadian innovative SMEs into Southeast Asia.

Source: ASEAN Secretariat

Home to over 642 million and with a combined economy of $2.8 trillion, ASEAN is now the world’s fifth largest economy and on track to become the fourth largest by 2030, after the U.S., China and the European Union.

On September 9 in Bangkok, with the support of CanCham Thailand, CABC will accelerate this dialogue at Innovate CanadaASEAN.

The ASEAN Plan of Action on Science, Technology and Innovation (APASTI) 2016-2025 provides a strategic vision for the regional bloc. Like Canada, partnerships between the public and private sector are prioritized to create an effective ecosystem for capability development, technology transfer and commercialization.

The full-day conference will convene 150+ senior decisionmakers within the Canada-ASEAN economic corridor to create synergies, showcase Canadian innovation, connect technology providers and seekers, and explore how innovation will address key industries’ needs. Topics include Agriculture, Artificial Intelligence, City Partnership, Clean Technology, Healthcare, and more.

Fintech is one example of a golden opportunity for Canada in ASEAN, where only 27% of adults have formal bank accounts and only 33% of businesses have access to proper financing. With SMEs as the lifeblood of the region’s economy, Canada’s worldclass financial services sector can provide the technology and regulatory experience needed for millions to access finance and capital.

Given the importance of moving from start-up to scale-up for the Canadian economy, Canadian innovators must consider international opportunities to gain market share in high-growth markets.

CABC’s Innovation Agenda At the Canada-ASEAN Business Council (CABC), our Innovation Agenda is to facilitate the exchange of information and advocate for partnerships that advance the trade relationship.

In ASEAN, Canadian companies are considered some of the most trustworthy partners and so, for Canadian entrepreneurs looking to raise capital and SMEs eyeing internationals expansion, ASEAN presents an opportunity too exciting to ignore.

CABC’s membership consists of some of Canada’s most wellknown innovators active in ASEAN markets, including Element AI and OpenText, who help shape the face of Brand Canada in the region.

Similarly, as illustrated in the 2018 report The Canada Advantage, Southeast Asian companies are using Canada as a brand innovation hub to jump-start their global businesses by leveraging Canada’s deep talent base and conducive business conditions to gain a global competitive advantage.

We look forward to welcoming you to the discussion on September 9 in Bangkok, Thailand!

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NEW MERGER RULES IN THAILAND: IMPACT ON TRADE AND BUSINESS

By Kiratika Poonsombudlert Associate, Chandler MHM Limited

If and When Filing is Required

In today’s business climate, the most time-efficient way to kickstart your company’s growth is no doubt by way of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A). Until recently, Thai law did not impose any hurdles to market consolidation in most sectors. However, due to new rules which have recently been enacted, M&A deals may not be as easy to complete as they once were.

The Act divides the filing obligations into two categories, depending on the outcome of the merger. These are: 1.Pre-merger filing and approval: for mergers that may result in the creation of a business monopoly or a dominant player;

In late 2018, a number of notifications originally drafted by the Office of Trade Competition Commission (“OTCC”) were announced in the Government Gazette and became effective (the “Notifications”). Among these Notifications, three concern merger control under the Trade Competition Act B.E. 2559 (2017) (the “Act”), have rendered the merger provisions under the Act immediately effective and enforceable by the OTCC. Most importantly, the Notifications have provided clarification in the areas outlined below.

2.Post-merger notification: for mergers that would substantially lessen the competition in a market, meaning a merger where any business operator that is a party to the transaction, whether before or after such merger, has a sales turnover of at least THB 1,000 million in a particular market, but does not result in the creation of a business monopoly or a dominant player. The resultant entity is required to notify the OTCC within seven days after the completion of their merger.

What is a “Merger” under the Act? Under the Act, the transactions that qualify as “mergers” are not clearly defined. However, the Notifications have clarified that there are three situations under which a transaction would be subject to the merger provisions. The “merger” situations referenced in the Notifications are:

Thus, when contemplating an M&A deal, if the transaction would be classified as a “merger”, it is up to the parties to analyze whether the merger control regime of the Act would apply. Specifically, the parties must determine whether they are required to apply for the pre-transactional approval or simply to notify the OTCC of their transaction after completion.

1.Two competitors amalgamating to become a new entity;

Filing Exemption

2.One competitor acquiring more than half of the relevant assets of another competitor, in a particular market; and

Mergers for purpose of reorganization between affiliates are exempted from any filing obligation. The Act recognizes the concept of a “Single Economic Entity” and grants this type of merger a waiver for the filing obligation. Mergers that are exempted from this obligation are those between business entities that have a “relationship in policy” or “directive power”.

The two terms under the Notifications can be summarized as:

3.One competitor acquiring and becoming the holder of at least 25% of all outstanding shares in a public company, or more than 50% of the shares in a private company.

Concerted actions of affiliated companies will be viewed together as having come from the same entity.

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Final Note

Relationship in Policy means a relationship between two or more business operators that have their own sets of guidelines, policies, or procedures on business administration, direction, or business management under the control of the same business operator with directive powers;

As the merger control provisions under the Act are currently enforceable, all prospective businesses which intend to combine and/or synergize forces should carefully review these regulations before undertaking a prospective M&A deal.

Directive Power means the power to control, whether directly or indirectly , among others, the majority of votes in a shareholders meeting of the other entity, the appointment or removal of at least half of all directors in the other entity, etc.

Questions which need to be asked before undertaking your deal include:

• What is your business’s market share?

• What is the target’s market share?

• Does the contemplated transaction have the potential to reduce competition in any particular market?

How to File?

The Notifications provides instructions on how to submit the supporting documentation to the OTCC, and what corporate and contractual documents must be submitted along with their application. The Notifications also include a specific form for this purpose, which details the requirements for the provision of certain basic information, such as a list of concerned businesses, timing of merger, the value of the businesses, etc.

The consequences for not following these new rules include severe penalties and potential prison sentences for wrongdoers.

Thoroughly understanding Thailand’s merger control regime will help ensure the legality of your investments rest on solid legal ground.

EVENTS - RECAP

Transatlantic Networking Night. “What the FATCA, eh?”

May Canuck Connections Networking

The Transatlantic Chambers staged an interactive business talk, “What the FATCA, eh?”, on Wednesday, April 24, 2019, at the Koi Lounge, 37/F Sathorn Square Building.

CanCham Thailand in partnership with the Thai-Canadian Alumni Association and the Emerging Markets Project presented the May Canuck Connections at Mode Sathorn on Wednesday, May 22, 2019.

MBMG’s Paul Gambles lead the talk and gave further insight into the implications of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) with a lively Q & A afterwards. The interactive discussion was followed by a Canuck Connections Networking event, which included fine Japanese cuisine provided by Koi Restaurant.

CanCham hosted 22 aspiring Canadian students from the Emerging Markets Project, a Canadian organization which seeks to teach students how to conduct business in developing economies. CanCham also welcomed many Thai-Canadian Alumni Association members for the first time; these seasoned professionals studied at Canadian universities and shared insights about Thai-Canadian relations through their unique perspectives.

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CANCHAM CELEBRATES CANADA DAY The British Club, as it has done for the past decade, played host to CanCham Thailand’s Canada Day celebration on Saturday June 15.

Les Walsh and Tanya Phathanathong did a great job MCing the event in English and French, respectively.

Attendees were serenaded to the tunes of Rhythm & Moose and Roy Jet throughout the afternoon and early evening.

Senior Trade Commissioner Michel Bergeron did the honours of the cutting the birthday cake in celebration of Canada’s 152nd birthday.

Thanks to our prize donors (Angsana Lang, Decathalon, Drink Wise, Mode Sathorn Hotel, Novotel, Swissotel, & Marisha Shibuya) for their great gifts and raffle prizes. And a special shout-out to our vendors on the day (Easy Burger, Dressed, Rolling Stone Pizza, Drink Wise, Paulaner, Crave Beverage).

Canada Day wouldn’t have been possible if not for our event sponsors (BCISB, Bumrungrad, ISB, KIS, Privileges, Allied Pickfords, Bangkok Hospital & BNH). Last but not least, thanks to the CanCham Thailand team, board members and volunteers who supported Canada Day 2019.

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AMID TENSE RELATIONS WITH CHINA, CANADA SHOULD SEEK OPPORTUNITIES IN ASEAN By: John Evans, Managing Director, and Hank Hulick, Consultant of Tractus Asia Ltd.

At the onset of the US-China trade war in July 2018, Canada seemed well-positioned to benefit from increased trade with China. But one year on and a high-profile extradition case later, Canada and China find themselves in a tense diplomatic conflict that has tainted trade relations and taken two Canadian citizens and a number of agricultural goods as collateral damage. While a modest increase in exports is possible as Chinese importers seek substitutes for certain US goods, any significant decrease to Canada’s trade deficit with China is unlikely given the current diplomatic dispute. Instead, Canadian companies should look to ASEAN markets where more attractive trade opportunities exist for them to capitalize on.

The trade war has created some opportunities for Canadian exporters, particularly those that can substitute US commodities now subject to higher tariffs. Wheat farmers, for example, exported 1.5 million tonnes to China from August 2018 through April 2019, a 14-year high, thanks to China’s 25% tariff on US wheat. Similarly, Canadian lobster farmers have seen their exports to China double since July 2018 after China imposed 25% tariffs on US lobsters. US lobster farmers have watched their exports to China plummet 70% during the same period, and China recently cut tariffs on Canadian lobsters by 3% to fill the void left by US exporters. Other major exports such as chemical wood pulp, lumber, and motor vehicles may also benefit if they are deemed suitable alternatives to tariffridden American products.

To date, the Trump administration has imposed 25% tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods and is now threatening tariffs on $325 billion more. China’s Ministry of Commerce has imposed retaliatory tariffs between 5-25% on $110 billion in US goods and is preparing non-tariff measures that would affect American businesses operating in China. Bilateral trade negotiations between the US and China have thus far come up short, only resulting in finger pointing and further barriers to trade.

But with the exception of the aforementioned products, the potential for Canadian companies to become beneficiaries in the trade war has been stifled by the detainment of Huawei CFO, Meng Wanzhou, in Vancouver on December 1, 2018. Following this event, a number of Canadian agricultural exports have since been either restricted or heavily scrutinized by China Customs.

For example, Canadian soybean exports to China dropped to 3,282 tonnes between January and March 2019, compared to 72,806 tonnes during the same period in 2018. Canola seed exports also fell by 14.7% in April after China suspended import permits for Viterra and Richardson, two of Canada’s largest exporters, citing concerns over quarantine pests, which the Canadian Food Inspection refutes.

Chinese importers are currently unwilling to purchase Canadian canola seeds, effectively barring Canadian companies from the market that previously accounted for 40% of Canadian seed, oil, and meal exports globally.

By tying any future resolution to China’s abandonment of its domestic industrial policies and current trade practices, the Trump administration is pressuring China to agree to a suboptimal deal that threatens its domestic competitiveness in key industries. The US is seeking near-term commitments which contradict China’s long-term approach to policymaking, as evident by its five-year plans, Made in China 2025, and Belt & Road Initiative. China’s backtracking during the latest round of negotiations in May was an indication of its unwillingness to agree to such a deal. Unless President Trump is forced to concede some of his demands due to overwhelming opposition from American companies and lobby groups, it’s likely that the conflict will continue into the coming election year.

Canadian pork is the latest victim. China Customs has blocked pork imports from three Canadian exporters after shipments were found to contain ractopamine – a banned feed additive in China.

China Customs has said it will increase non-compliance inspections for Canadian meat products as a result, potentially jeopardizing Canada’s pork exports to China, which in Q1 2019 was Canada’s

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global auto parts supplier – recently relocated manufacturing capacity from China to Thailand. The growing presence of MNCs like Magna with manufacturing operations in the region will create export opportunities for companies to tap these supply chains, specifically in select industries like auto manufacturing and agriculture where Canadian exporters have a competitive advantage.

An ASEAN-Canada free trade agreement would allow for even greater Canadian trade and investment into the region. ASEAN already has existing FTAs with other developed trading partners such as Australia, New Zealand, China, India, Japan, and South Korea. The ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) has contributed significantly to these two countries’ exports to ASEAN since it was implemented in 2010. Bilateral trade between ASEAN and Australia increased from $76.5 billion in 2010 to $89.5 billion in 2016; trade between ASEAN and New Zealand rose from $9.5 billion to $13.1 billion over the same period. Moreover, an ASEAN-Canada FTA would build on Canada’s existing trade agreements with Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). A 2017 report from the University of British Columbia’s Institute of Asian Research projected an ASEAN-Canada FTA would generate $11 billion in bilateral trade and $1.2 billion in Canadian GDP growth by 2027.

Such a trade agreement will allow far greater access for Canadian exporters looking to profit from ASEAN’s economic resurgence.

China’s vast market potential is irrefutable, but so are its discretionary trade practices. While Canada’s bilateral trading relationship with China remains as profitable as it does promising, the current diplomatic crisis underscores the importance of trade diversification in Asia. The fast growing economies in ASEAN offer an attractive and large market of more than 620-plus million consumers for Canadian products and services. Exporters should read the tea leaves and consider other regional prospects amid the US-China trade war, but more importantly for the decade ahead.

third largest market. Other agricultural exports such as peas, flax seed, and rapeseed meal have reportedly all encountered challenges at Customs. By restricting these goods in the wake of the Meng’s detainment, China has shown its willingness to use economic bargaining chips to serve political interests.

Canadian exporters should and need to seek out alternative markets while the Canadian government attempts to resolve the current diplomatic and economic disputes with China. Canadian soy exporters, for example, upped shipments to ASEAN in recent months after increased Customs inspections have deterred Chinese importers from buying Canadian. More Canadian companies would be wise to follow suit.

ASEAN and its increasing integration presents promising trade opportunities for Canadian exports not only because of Canada’s existing trade relations in the region, but also due to the likelihood of an ASEAN-Canada free trade agreement. ASEAN is Canada’s sixth largest trading partner, with $7.8 billion worth of exports to the region in 2017. Wheat, chemical wood pulp, and non-metallic minerals are the top exports to the region by volume. Food products collectively account for 25% of total annual exports, and although commodities comprise the majority of exports, other goods including machinery and pharmaceuticals comprise 14% and have room to grow. The region’s “Fast-4” economies – Vietnam, Philippines, Cambodia, and Myanmar – enjoy 32% of total Canadian exports to ASEAN and have experienced average annual export growth of 15%, the fastest in the region, over the past four years. Further liberalizing bilateral trade in goods and services will have a tremendous impact on economic

John Evans

development in the region.

Hank Hulick

By: John Evans, Managing Director, (john.evans@tractus-asia. com) and Hank Hulick, Consultant, (hank.hulick@tractus-asia. com) of Tractus Asia Ltd. (www.tractus-asia.com) a pan-Asian strategic advisory firm providing guidance to multinational companies on investing in and doing business in Asia’s emerging economies.

Canadian and other foreign direct investment into ASEAN will also contribute to stronger economic ties and generate new opportunities for exporters. A growing number of companies are shifting supply chains away from China to take advantage of ASEAN’s lower costs and to avoid the impact of US tariffs.

Magna International is one Canadian manufacturer who is poised to benefit from re-investing in ASEAN. Magna – a leading

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ENGAGING YOUR CUSTOMER THROUGH CONSUMER INSIGHTS & PRACTICES

By Manoon Manusook, Country Industry Leader (Thailand), & Kanchanok Bunsupaporn, Senior Consultant, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Jaiyos Co., Ltd.

Pre-Consumption

The very first step in delivering a winning customer experience is by helping businesses to anticipate their needs and exceed their expectations. In the second half of 2018, Deloitte conducted a survey across 1,000 households via face-to-face interviews in four metropolitan cities in Thailand: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, and Songkhla. The survey outlined the consumer journey, starting from pre-consumption to consumption and then onto post-consumption (Figure 1). Key consumer insights were discovered along with answers to some strategic questions, such as what are the businesses implications, and how can businesses adapt into this new era?

In this phase, we examined customers’ behavior before making decisions, starting from their economic perspectives to the marketing channels influencing them and the factors driving their purchasing decisions.

We found that Thai consumers are generally optimistic about the economy, and believe it will continue to stay strong in the next 3-5 years as 42% respondents plan to spend more (Figure 2). Northern & Northeastern cities are particularly optimistic, especially Chiang Mai, due to a number of initiatives taken to boost the tourism sector there. Overall, there are positive signs for an increase in spending, especially with millennials aged 25-29 years-old and in the highincome group (THB 85,000 up). There is a great opportunity for luxury goods to do well in the Thai market, particularly designer apparel and footwear, luxury leather goods and premium beauty and personal care products.

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Digital channels are gaining traction, however traditional marketing channels still lead the way. Consumers rely heavily on information from television, especially the elderly and customers in Chiang Mai and Songkhla as they perceive television as the most trusted communication channel. However, in Bangkok and Khon Kaen, in-store promotions are more likely to influence consumers.

Nevertheless, digital marketing channels continue to grow as the preferred source of information, having a greater impact on younger respondents aged 20-29 and Chiang Mai consumers, who spend an average of 4.5 hours per day on social media, which is higher than television. Thus, businesses might consider trying to run a marketing campaign via various online channels.

Thai consumers do continue to shop at brick-and-mortar retail outlets. This is due to a greater sense of security. So, it is crucial for e-commerce platforms to establish their credibility in the marketplace and invest in the necessary consumer protection and security measures to address any reservations that consumers may have in embracing online shopping.

Bank transfers including PromptPay, were the most frequently used payment methods for online purchases, followed by cash-on-delivery and credit cards, respectively. To encourage purchasing via online channels, businesses should establish safety standards to protect customers’ data, provide a variety of payment options and simplify their websites.

Multiple factors influence a consumer’s purchasing decisions, including product features, brand names, the perceived quality, and price. Overall, quality was shown to be the most important factor spread across all product categories, with the exception of some categories such as food and beverage products, or clothing and footwear, while in the consumer electronics market branding was seen as a guarantee of quality.

Post-Consumption Finally, we examined post-purchase loyalty or loyalty programs, which are important in managing customer satisfaction and retention. According to the survey, key factors driving customers to be members of loyalty programs are benefits from point redemptions and member discounts (Figure 3).

Even though Thai customers prefer foreign brands, owing to a general perception that they offer better quality and are perceived to be reflective of image or social status, local businesses still have good opportunities when it comes to packaged foods and alcoholic beverages as they are more popular among Thai consumers.

Consumption The consumption phase is related to purchasing activities, which consist of the location where customers shop and the payment methods that may change along with their behavior.

First, convenience chain stores are the preferable point of purchase for 52% of the respondents due to their aggressive expansion across Thailand, resulting in greater availability to consumers.

However, consumers still prefer purchasing some products, including beverages, clothing and footwear from traditional trade channels e.g., mom and pop stores, due to the ability of these channels to offer the right variety of niche products.

Ultimately, the path to success for businesses lies in designing their products or services along with their consumers’ journeys.

They must engage and entice consumers by connecting with them at the right touchpoints, at the right time, and with the right messaging. As these journeys continue to evolve with the accelerating uptake of digital and payment technologies, businesses will need to innovate quickly and respond swiftly to the rapidly changing consumer preferences and behaviors in this digital era.

Thirty-eight percent of survey respondents indicated that they have purchased items through online shopping platforms, but

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MEET CANADIAN AUTHORS IN THAILAND

Left to Right: Bjorn Turmann, Marisha Wojciechowska, Natalie Glebova, Collin Piprell & Christopher Moore

In early May, CanCham Thailand held its first event for Canadian authors living in Thailand, inviting five prominent authors to the Hotel Indigo to share their literary experiences with a captivated crowd.

other international institutions, private sector clients, and notfor-profits on issues of water, sustainable development and the environment. She is passionate about making the world a wonderous place for our children.

First, a little on the authors: Bjorn Turmann is the author of four novels: The Good Daughter, The Karaoke World of Cortous Haire, The Last Tobacco Shop in the World and In This Invisible. He is also the author of a book on public speaking, Speaking Energy: Public Speaking for Humans… Finally! Originally from Vancouver, Bjorn has lived in Asia since 1993.

Natalie Glebova is an author, motivational speaker, entrepreneur and public figure who has been intensely focused on empowerment coaching and gender equality activism for the last decade. Former Miss Universe (2005) and UN Women’s advocate, she is passionate about encouraging young people to build their self-confidence and reach their biggest goals. Now, as a mother to her daughter Maya, Natalie’s mission is to help young people become happy and self-assured. With her latest book, I am Winning – A Guide to Personal Empowerment, Natalie’s hope is to ignite the spark of courage in her readers towards becoming the best versions of themselves.

Marisha Wojciechowska is a Canadian who has lived in Montreal, Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York, Paris, Tokyo and Bangkok.

Having extensively globe-trotted with her family, she saw a real need to produce child-engaging travel books. “My Globetrotter Book” is a burgeoning collection of travel activity books for children 6-12 years old. Designed to engage them in the joys of discovery and exploration. Bangkok: City of Angels is the first to be launched and distributed in Thailand through Asia Books, though others in the series are to include Paris, New York City, Toronto, Tokyo, Montreal & Quebec City.

Collin Piprell is a Canadian writer resident in Thailand. He has also lived in England, where he performed graduate work as a Canada Council Doctoral Fellow (later, Social Sciences and Humanities Fellow) in politics and philosophy at Pembroke College, Oxford.

Mr. Piprell is currently writing a third volume in the Magic Circles series, following on from MOM and Genesis 2.0 – speculative novels set in the mid-to-late 21st century. He is also the author of Kicking Dogs, a comic thriller and an antic portrait of boom-time Bangkok.

Beyond the GlobeTrotter Series, Marisha has also published coffee-table books in the past and has also authored and edited numerous knowledge products for the United Nations and

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The Indigo Hotel on Wireless Road played host to this event featuring five prominent Canadian authors residing in the Land of Smiles.

Bjorn Turmann

Christopher G. Moore is a Canadian author who has lived in Thailand since 1988. He studied, taught and practiced Canadian law before becoming a full-time writer of literary crime and fiction.

He now has over 35 books and hundreds of essays published and has also written several radio dramas. Moore’s crime novel series Vincent Calvino and the Behind-the-Smiles trilogy set in Thailand are internationally acclaimed. His novels have been translated into a dozen languages, winning international awards such as the Shamus Award and German Critics Award.

Marisha Wojciechowska

Each author was given time to talk about their work and writing process, which was followed by a lively Q&A session with audience members. Before and after the discussion, the authors mingled with the crowd, selling and signing copies of their works.

Natalie Glebova

The mix of genres was interesting as Turmann writes fiction and on public speaking, while Piprell has ventured into the realm of science fiction in his latest trilogy. Moore is a celebrated crime fiction writer, Glebova writes motivational books, and Wojciechowska has focused her recent writing on children’s books. The five were able to address very different writing styles, motivations, and target audiences – making for an allencompassing look at the variety of styles and genres for Canadian authors in Thailand.

Collin Piprell

Following the event, Collin Piprell said, “It was a real pleasure to listen to the other Canadian writers present their work. Each expressed cogent and nicely complimentary thoughts on a really diverse range of writing experiences.” Meanwhile, Christopher Moore said, “I enjoyed being part of this rare gathering of Canadian authors living in Thailand. Discussing books, culture and artistic perspectives allowed us to connect with our audience, many of whom aspired to writing a book of their own.”

Christopher Moore

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CANADA, THAILAND AND ASEAN

By Paulo Guedes Moreau

In mid-November of 2018, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended the 33rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Singapore. This diplomatic action was viewed as a strategic move to uphold Canada’s commitment to strengthen economic ties with South East Asia as well as to promote Canada’s trade diversification agenda. This year, Thailand will host the 34th ASEAN Summit and the opening ceremony was recently held in Bangkok on June 23. Going forward, what can Canadians expect from Thailand as well as ASEAN and why is this important?

The Kingdom of Thailand is strategically located at the heart of ASEAN and sits at a unique crossroad between the two great ancient oriental powers. India’s economy continues to grow and its population of 1.3 billion is on track to surpass China; China continues its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI); and Thailand sits inbetween these two economic powerhouses and is surrounded by some of the world’s fastest growing economies: Cambodia, Myanmar, Lao PDR and Vietnam.

The Kingdom has recognized its strategic centrality and is therefore in the process of developing its Eastern Seaboard under the its Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) plan. Thailand’s Eastern Seaboard is home to 3,788 factories and contains the region’s most significant industrial clusters with petrochemical investments that rank in the top 5 in Asia. It is also a major global production base for motor vehicles and electronics with integrated deep seaports. In 2016, the Thai government reaffirmed its commitment to developing its Eastern Seaboard by announcing that the EEC was a key component of its “Thailand 4.0” economic policy.

ASEAN is made of 10 of the 11 countries in South East Asia: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Timor Leste is the final missing piece towards an ASEAN that encompasses all of Southeast Asia. The ASEAN Statistics Division estimated that the combined GDP of ASEAN member states amounted to approximately USD 2.7 trillion (nominal) at the end of 2017 would make it the 3rd largest economy in Asia after China and Japan. Moreover, the Research Division at the United Overseas Bank (UOB) indicates that this combined GDP (nominal) of ASEAN would make ASEAN’s economy the 5th largest in the world for 2017.

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Within ASEAN, Thailand is Canada’s 2nd largest merchandise trading partner after Vietnam. Canada’s bilateral merchandise trade with Thailand totalled over C$4.3 billion in 2018, with C$780.2 million in exports to Thailand and C$3.56 billion in imports from Thailand. The Kingdom is Canada’s 3rd largest trading partner when it comes to importing Automatic Data Processing Storage Units (HS Code 847170) with a total value of C$227 million for 2018. One of Canada’s most valuable exports to Thailand are items relating to chemical wood pulp (HS Code 470200) with a total value of C$73 million for 2018 and would place Thailand as Canada’s 4th largest trading partner after China, India and Indonesia for this commodity.

billion. Although this amount only accounts for 2.13% of Canada’s total bilateral merchandise trade for 2018, it would make ASEAN Canada’s 6th largest trading partner. However, there are ongoing efforts to make ASEAN a more significant trade partner through the creation of a Canada-ASEAN free trade agreement.

It is predicted that such an agreement would create between C$4.8 billion and C$10.9 billion in additional bilateral trade according to The ASEAN Advantage: Exploring Canada’s Trade Potential. The report indicates that this agreement would diversify Canada’s foreign trade, raise Canada’s credibility in the Southeast Asia and reduce the dependence on its traditional markets like the United States and China. Furthermore, if Canada and ASEAN sign this deal, it would give Canada access to a market of more than 642 million consumers with an average annual GDP growth of 5.4% in recent years which is expected to become the 4th largest by 2030.

There is great potential for Canadian business in ASEAN as exemplified by the success stories of Bombardier in Thailand’s transportation industry or the National Bank of Canada’s involvement in Cambodia’s banking industry. There is also Canadian government support for Canadian businesses in ASEAN. Canada has offices for the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) as well as diplomatic representation in all 10 member countries. Furthermore, Canada appointed a dedicated ambassador to ASEAN in 2009 and in 2012 the Canada-ASEAN Business Council (CABC) was established by Canadian private sector companies at the request of Canada’s Minister of International Trade.

The modern era of international trade is changing and taking a shift back to the Far East. Canada’s trade policies must adapt to these changes to remain competitive on the international stage, especially when our southernmost neighbour is adopting protectionist trade policies. Canada must look elsewhere, and ASEAN is a natural first choice for Canada’s next FTA.

Paulo Guedes Moreau Paulo is a business student at the University of Ottawa and former Commercial Coordinator at CanCham Thailand.

Canada must look to Asia to diversify its trade policy as was done in 2015 with the signing of the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement (CKFTA). The signing of the CKFTA was encouraging, however Canada’s next step in Asia should be to secure an FTA with ASEAN. In 2018, Statistics Canada calculated that Canada’s bilateral merchandise trade with ASEAN reached over C$25.1

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CANADA - THAILAND TRADE STATS THAILAND’S PROFILE Economic Indicators • Gross domestic product (GDP) at purchasing power parity (PPP): US$1.2 trillion (2017) • GDP per capita at PPP: US$17,900 (2017) • Population: 69.0 million (2017) • International merchandise exports and imports: 100.9% of GDP at official exchange rates (2017) • Canada’s 20th largest merchandise trade partner (2017) • Canada’s 38th largest services trade partner (2016) • Ease of Doing Business ranking: 26th among 190 countries (2017) • World Competitiveness ranking: 32nd among 137 countries (2017) Notable Trade and Investment Agreements between Canada and Thailand • Agreement Between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand for the Promotion and Protection of Investments (1998) CANADA’S MERCHANDISE TRADE WITH THAILAND

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CANADA’S MERCHANDISE TRADE WITH THAILAND

WELCOME TO CANCHAM’S NEWEST MEMBERS IC SPARK. CO.,LTD. Corporate www.wholelifebangkok.com WLC@wholelifebangkok.com +66 02 1634 557

NATHAN WOOD Individual Business Development Manager nathan@primalacc.org

THE FRESH FOOD COMPANY LIMITED. Corporate www.getfresh.co.th info@getfresh.co.th

PAULO GUEDES MOREAU Young Professional Business Consultant www.linkedin.com/in/paulo-guedes-moreau paulo_guedes_moreau@hotmail.com

VINZAN INTERNATIONAL INC. Affiliate kelsey@vinzan.com

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ADASTRA – CHANGING THE WAY BIG BANKS DO BUSINES Daniel Galler, the Director of Business Development for Adastra Business Consulting, recently dropped into CanCham’s Bangkok office to bring us up to speed on the company’s activities and plans in Thailand.

The new Toronto office will house an innovation hub for product development and demonstration to deepen Adastra’s expertise in cutting-edge technology solutions. The Adastra Disruption Lab will help create a culture of “intrapreneurship” for the company’s workforce, allowing employees to “define their entrepreneurial spirit within” through creatively testing and developing new tech concepts using company time and resources.

Background First, a little background on the company. With 12 offices around the world, Adastra is a global leader in data management and analytics, known for transforming businesses into digital leaders.

Since 2000, Adastra, has been helping global organizations accelerate innovation, improve operational excellence, and create unforgettable customer experiences, all with the power of their data. By providing cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Cloud, Digital and Governance services and Business Consulting solutions, Adastra helps enterprises leverage data that they can control and trust, connecting them to their customers – and their customers to the world. The company prides itself on delivering fast, tangible results with a demonstrably proven return on investment.

Darren Edery, Adastra’s CEO, says, “This year marks a watershed moment for Adastra. As we significantly expand our footprint, we will continue to transform our North American customers by helping unlock and drive insights from their most valuable asset – their data.” Meanwhile, the company’s Detroit office will help Adastra establish a beachhead presence for the company in the U.S. Midwest, allowing it to foster close relationships and grow its existing U.S. client base.

Adastra’s new Bangkok office will provide a gateway to the Asian market and its abundance of talent, technology and customers.

The company’s Bangkok office is situated on the 11th floor of the Mercury Tower in Pathumwan.

Recent Developments Daniel told Voyageur that Adastra Corporation recently expanded to Toronto, Detroit and Bangkok – laying out the groundwork for its next stage of growth.

As part of its expansion into Thailand, the company has recently refreshed its brand and launched a new website highlighting Adastra’s new tagline, Data Connects Everything, emphasizing its core focus on helping clients extract value from data. Through ADASTRA Business Consulting (ABC), local businesses, especially financial institutions will be able to leverage their internal data and engage in process re-engineering to achieve greater efficiency to save on costs, better serve their current clients and offer financial products to entirely new segments for a more inclusive society.

The company has always worked at the forefront of technology – transforming and disrupting norms with a high calibre, cuttingedge approach. The company’s new downtown Toronto office is its second in the GTA. It will help bolster Adastra’s service to the region, further integrate with the city’s booming tech ecosystem and foster closer relationships with clients, employees and partners around the world.

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Why Thailand?

Daniel tells us that Adastra is here to serve the local banking and insurance community and any financial organization looking for optimization with their collection, underwriting, scorecard, digitization and governance processes.

But these days, more and more people, especially young people, want to do banking online, causing more anxiety in the traditional banking system. The fintechs are stepping in and providing simplistic and cheap means of getting credit and doing banking.

Traditional banks must adapt if they want to stay competitive as people literally are becoming their own banks.

He says Adastra is a technical and operational consultancy that focuses on optimization and efficiency gains which can lead to cost savings and greater margins for banks, insurance companies, financial organizations, telcos and so on. Adastra specializes in short-to-medium term engagements with immediate impact as Adastra gets results for the companies it services quickly.

Daniel says the Philippines provides an example of how the way we bank is changing: BPI, a traditional bricks and mortar bank built up a client base of approximately 8 million customers over 100 years of operation. But because they couldn’t service the “unbankable” Home Credit stepped in and in just 5 years has as many customers as BPI.

In Thailand, only about 30 percent of the population are bankable, meaning they have an address that is known, have pay slips and a credit history with a credit score from a credit bureau.

Brick and mortar banks and financial institutions have to keep up and modernize as our lives become more and more digitized.

Adastra is here to help them do that.

The other seventy percent of the population are “unbankable” and underserved because they don’t meet the requirements of traditional financial institutions to access credit or get a loan. In other countries fintechs such as China’s Home Credit are stepping in to fill the void and traditional banks are eyeing this with concern as they cannot serve, but want to learn how to serve the “unbankable” segment of the population. Adastra specializes in online lending and it knows how to credit score the un-bankable portion of the Thai population using a methodology and parameters that it has developed over the years. This covers all the important parts of the credit life cycle in practical and implementable way, specifically in sales, underwriting, application fraud, scoring, collections and CRM.

More information can be found at https://adastra-abc.com https://adastragrp.com/ and https://adastracorp.com.

Daniel notes that trying to make changes to a large traditional bank is like trying to have an aircraft carrier make a sharp lefthand turn; they have a culture and way of doing things they have been practicing for hundreds of years, so it’s hard to get them to change.

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CHINA-US TRADE WAR IS A GREAT BIG DIVERSION

By Paul Gambles

It seems like every time I read the newspaper or watch the news at the moment, all I see is the latest on the China-US trade war.

This story becomes particularly annoying when a non-expert journalist attempts to explain what’s happening and what it all means. When there are such complicated discussions, with farreaching consequences, however, even specialists find it hard to anticipate exactly their impact in normal times. Considering that these times are anything but normal, with a crisis only a Trumptweet away, it’s verging on the impossible.

When the April US monthly jobs report came out, analyst Danielle Di Martino Booth of Quill Intelligence put it down to the bulk of jobs created being either part-time or lower-paid2. Not only that, but real average hourly earnings of employees also fail to take into account a couple of important factors – namely how many employees there are and how many hours they’re working. A numerator without a denominator is meaningless.

For example, a trade war may have a negative effect on world trade. But then it may turn out to be advantageous for the emerging markets in Southeast Asia, as the US looks to do business elsewhere. The same may also be said for Canada, as China looks for other western destinations. Who knows?

When we dig deeper, we find that the US labour force participation rate declined by 0.2 percentage points to 62.8 percent in April, meaning that it was at the same point as in the previous April.

The rate has been depressed since it peaked at the time of the 2000 Dotcom bubble burst and has remained stagnant for the last six years (see chart). Hardly green shoots of recovery.

Yet, complexity isn’t the only reason not to let trade talks dominate and investor’s thinking. The fact is, the China-US trade issue is merely a sideshow. Historically, trade wars don’t cause economic events, they are a symptom of an already deteriorating situation. For example, the USA’s 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act is sometimes cited as a cause of the Great Depression. But the Fed’s tightening policies, massive drops in crop prices and debt-laden speculation on Wall Street had already happened before Washington, and much of the rest of the world, resorted to beggaring neighbours. What’s more, as Ha Joon Chang1 and many others have shown, protectionism, far from being disastrous, is what fuelled the respective actual and economic empires and industrial and financial revolutions of the British and American centuries.

Source: St. Louis Federal Reserve Chart: MBMG Investment Advisory

But what about today? US employment figures may look good on the surface but scratch a little and you’ll see a different reality.

In mid-May, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that real average hourly earnings for all employees decreased 0.1 percent from March to April, seasonally adjusted. Despite a brief jump in the second half of last year, this is a phenomenon which has persisted for the last four years.

1Ha-Joon Chang, Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective. London: Anthem Press, 2002 2www.foxnews.com/transcript/gop-donor-invites-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-to-adinner-celebrating-free-market-success-stories

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So, fewer Americans are participating in the workforce. But what does this mean in terms of actual numbers of Americans earning income? From 2010 to the end of 2018, the US civilian labour force increased by around 10 million people – over 1 million more Americans each year earning (and spending) income (see charts).

Back in the US, April’s y-o-y GDP growth rate was around the same as it has been since 2010 – with the exception of a significant dip in 2015-2016 (Canada’s is half a percent less), US trade data shows a slowing down; corporate earnings are lower; capital expenditure is down; so are auto sales; credit impulse and debt servicing is weaker.

If all that doesn’t tell us enough, there are the markets. Global equity markets are lagging US equities, which is dangerous because the latter seem to be quasi-Pavlovian, reacting automatically to Trump’s latest Twitter tirade. Meanwhile, the scarcity (or at least the high cost) of US Dollar liquidity is making it hard for stimuli applied in Emerging Markets, including China, to gain hoped traction.

These issues can be conveniently ignored, as the Federal Reserve seems to be doing. However, they’re not transitory problems, they’re fundamental. Mere patience alone won’t solve them – the Fed needs to get ahead of the curve, if it’s not already too late.

China’s stimulus programme is struggling, showing that noone else is big enough to do it without America’s help. The trade tantrum has highlighted these issues, which is why we’ve moved our position from late cycle. We may experience some turbulence to buckle up, it’s starting to get really bumpy.

Maybe this situation will eventually cause the Fed to blink or US President to change his Twitter tone. I can see US 10-year Treasury bonds going up to 2.60 before dropping. In fact, the bond market could force the Fed’s hand to add stimulus – it seems to be the strongest force apart from Trump’s tweets at the moment.

The problem is that the smart money may have already left the risk markets and the global economy by then.

Source: St. Louis Federal Reserve Chart: MBMG Investment Advisory

However, this year has seen a fall in those numbers by the best part of 1 million. What’s more, the ‘blue collar’ sector, where the relationship between income and spending has been tight, has seen a falling number of employees being given fewer hours to work.

By contrast, Canada’s labour participation rate over the same timeframe has gone in the opposite direction: Paul Gambles is co-founder of MBMG Group MBMG Group is an advisory firm that assists expatriates and locals within the South-East Asia Region with services ranging from Investment Advisory, Personal Advisory, Tax Advisory, Corporate Advisory, Insurance Services, Accounting & Auditing Services, Legal Services, Estate Planning and Property Solutions.

For more information: Tel: +66 2665 2536 E-mail: info@mbmg-group.com Linkedin: mbmg-group Twitter: @MBMG_GROUP

Source: StatsCan Chart: MBMG Investment Advisory

Facebook: /MBMGGroup Instagram: mbmg_group

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“Should I take them to a hospital? It’s a long way, and the traffic can be very busy. If only I could get some quick advice over the phone?”

Relax, with ‘Bumrungrad Anywhere’ you can! The best part is, you don’t even need an appointment, and can call any time between 7 am and 11 pm seven days a week!

Once downloaded on your mobile device, open the App and follow a few simple steps to register. You can view the doctors available, see their photo, along with specific training and certifications, and even how past patients have reviewed them. Within minutes, you can be connected with the professional practitioner of your choice in a video consultation, and let the physician see the problem via your camera. It may merely be bed rest, remedies you have at home or a change of habit, but if medicines are required to hasten recovery, the doctor can prescribe these there and then, via the App, and you can collect them from a pharmacy convenient to you. The doctor can consult, diagnose and subscribe for conditions vis the application, however, if the doctor thinks it necessary, you may be asked to visit Bumrungrad International or your local hospital for further examination or tests.

Don’t worry if you’re on holiday, or even out of the country, ‘Bumrungrad Anywhere’ covers you everywhere, giving instant access to medical advice, whether at work or home, school or hotel, in town or upcountry.

The cost of this service is just THB 500 (approximately $16 USD) for a fifteen minute consultation, payable on the App (credit card or bank transfer) at the time of use. Should more time be required, an alert will show and additional time can be secured at the same rate.

Your data is safe and will be secure on a fully encrypted system, integrated with the hospital, inaccessible to any third parties. If you have been a recent patient at Bumrungrad, the doctor will have full access to your information so that they can make as thorough an assessment and diagnosis as possible. It is essential that the doctor is aware of any medication you may be on, also your allergies and previous medical history. A consultation summary is available at the close, along with any diagnosis, recommendations or prescription requirements.

When you look at the many Apps on your phone, some you’ll use every day, even every hour! We hope that you won’t need to use ‘Bumrungrad Anywhere’, but we do know that just by being there, you and your family will feel reassured, safe and protected.

Application

Bumrungrad International Hospital has partnered with Raksa, the leading telemedicine platform in Thailand, to bring Bumrungrad’s doctors to your mobile device

www.bumrungrad.com

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A WORLD OF

OPPORTUNITY

By providing a range of rich experiences we strive to ensure that each individual student grows to fulfil their potential. Our Class of 2019 received over 450 offers from global universities. Among these were 105 offers from the top 50 world universities as listed by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, including multiple Oxbridge, Ivy League and Russell Group offers.

We are most proud to have students who follow their passions beyond Bangkok Patana. Congratulations to Conor Kelly for his Division 1 golf scholarship, to Nanan (Chopin) Indra-Payoong who will be going to Berklee College of Music and Andrea Gatchalian who will attend Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, to Jin Ju Lee for her offer from Yonsei University and to the rest of our Grad 19 students. We feel privileged that you are now part of our diversely talented, global alumni group.

admissions@patana.ac.th Tel: +66 (0) 2785 2200 www.patana.ac.th Bangkok Patana is a not for profit, IB World School accredited by CIS